Keynote farming, food and finance gathering attracts 250 people

More than 250 delegates from the food, finance and farming sectors are now registered to attend the AgriFood Business Partners Conference in Dublin’s Clyde Court Hotel next Friday, 31 January.

The AgriFood 2014 Conference is bringing top food industry executives, banking strategists and farming interests together in a gathering of minds to explore sustainable investment options for growth and development.

Michael Cronin, chairman, AgriFood Business Partners, said: “While Ireland’s agri-food industry is looking optimistically towards future growth and development, this won’t come about successfully unless there is ongoing and sustainable monetary investment in that expansion opportunity from farm to fork in the years ahead. This and other themes will be explored at this keynote gathering of agri-food, finance and farming interests.”

The conference sets out to frame a medium-term approach to sustainable investment within the Irish agri-food sector up to 2020. It will have three main strands – each with expert and informative speakers: (1) The Market and Processor View, (2) The Farmers Perspective and (3) Investment and Financial Solutions.

Top dairyman Tom Clinton and Alan Jagoe will provide the farmer’s perspective. The debate will be fuelled by Dr Pat Dillon of Teagasc; Professor Jim Burke of University College Dublin and Keenan executive chairman, Gerard Keenan. Suckler specialist Michael Doran will also discuss farm conversion.

Following from these expert market, processor and farming perspectives, economist Colm McCarthy will explore the economic context for new investment and financial solutions within Ireland’s agrifood industry.

Former IBRC chairman Alan Dukes will then lead a discussion on the financial solutions available for Ireland’s agrifood industry by top corporate executives and agri-strategists of leading financial institutions including AIB, Bank Of Ireland, Barclays, HSBC, Rabobank and Ulster Bank.

According to the organisers, the AgriFood 2014 conference is designed to promote strategic ambition collectively between all market participants including processors, producers and the financial institutions. If Ireland can establish models for sustainable investment throughout all levels of our supply chain then we’ll achieve the growth and development we all want along with competitiveness and success for the entire agrifood industry.